


The Other Side of

by djiange



Series: Soul Sisters [1]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Character Study, Conversations mostly, Dark maybe, Light Angst, M/M, pure douches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 15:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16725852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/djiange/pseuds/djiange
Summary: Eddie Brock is take-things-as-they-come that kind of guy, which might be the reason why this deplorable human being functions as such an awesome host for alien parasites, and also, for Carlton Drake.





	The Other Side of

**Author's Note:**

> · A work of fiction. The characters belong to their respective owners and the real people belong to themselves.
> 
> · Not a native English speaker, so I beg your pardon for my broken grammar and poor choices of words.
> 
> · I INTEND to write a short pwp and have no idea why it ends up more like a character study and completely porn free...
> 
> · Slight VEEP spoiler below.

Eddie Brock is take-things-as-they-come that kind of guy, which might be the reason why this deplorable human being functions as such an awesome host for alien parasites, and also, for Carlton Drake.

In whatever way, Brock doesn't expect the devil-may-care Elon Musk to be alive before the man literally shows up in front of his shacky apartment without a warning from Venom. **_He is not armed after all. By the way, surprise._**

Yet Brock simply asks: “Aren’t you supposed to be afraid that I’m gonna hand you over to the cops right now?”

“Save it, Eddie.” Drake squeezes his way through the chipping-off door and Brock, neglecting to put on airs. “Both of us know you won’t let a single source go, no matter what ethic says.”

Brock snorts, and closes the door behind him. “Since when do you care about what ethic says?”

“I don’t.” Drake throws himself on the sofa. _This dude smells like shit_ , Brock groans in his own head. Drake still wears the seemingly same white T-shirt and black sweater as two days ago when they fought at the launch complex. “Thought you’d be more interested in what I am doing here rather than questioning my moral compass.”

“I’m waiting. Please explain.” Brock sits down across his uninvited guest, not bothering to fetch any drinks for him.

“I was ejected from the capsule whereas Riot was burnt up.”

“And?”

“I want my symbiote back.”

 ** _I am not_ his _symbiote._** “You wish.”

“I can be your exclusive source. Life Foundation may now lie in tatters, but I still have all the encrypted data myself. I’ll give out everything you want.”

“Man, you are nuts.” Brock bursts out a laugh, and immediately shuts his mouth after he meets Drake’s eyes. He shifts his legs a little, holding hands between his knees. “The deal is good, but you know this is not the decision I can make, right? These symbiotes get their own wills.”

“Then let my symbiote talk.”

Venom reveals his form on Brock’s left shoulder as Drake drops the syllable _my_. “I am not _your_ symbiote, nor will I be your comrade in arms for your conquest and massacre scheme. I escaped from my kind for another way of life.”

“This _is_ the new way of life, for both symbiotes and humanity.” Drake leans forward. “As I said, giant leaps will always come at a cost. Either way you choose, there must be sacrifice to solve the trolley problem.”

“Now who’s talking about ethic again?” Brock smirks at Drake, and narrows his eyes. “What exactly do you want? Don’t you tell me you truly believe this mergence-with-aliens-and-migration-to-another-planet shit would work.”

“We have run out of time. Designed with fatal deficiencies, humanity won’t remain prosperous on Earth by the next generation, unless it could physically convert to a higher lifeform. The symbiosis, which makes the two species better adapted to their environment, will be encouraged and developed by the pressures of natural selection.”

“That’s only your hypothesis.” Brock shrugs. “Say we manage to fuse biologically somehow, it doesn’t mean we’d be mentally compatible, at least not forever. Then what if these hybrids want a break-up? The symbiote might carry on their lives, but what about the host? Are you gonna abandon them like how you treat your lab rats?”

“ _It is not the strongest of the species that survive, but the one most responsive to change._ ” Drake answers in a deadpan voice.

“Seriously? Are you gonna say _Arbeit macht frei_ next?” Brock touches his forehead, shouting back with restrained rage. “I ain’t in the mood to argue against your belief in utilitarianism or social Darwinism here, but have you _ever_ thought it over before it goes too far? It’s not merely a medical ethical problem that can be covered by a casual puff piece, rather a trigger very likely resulting in unfathomable changes to human civilization.”

“Even if it’s not me who pushes the process of evolution, the singularity is coming sooner or later, leading to the new species, new civilization differing widely from human beings and symbiotes. All the other cowards flinch from this divine vocation while I _devote_ to bearing the Passion.”

“Listen to your-fucking-self, dude.” A slight sneer creeps over Brock’s face. “Is this a revenge on your mama who doesn't love you? Enjoy being a cliche cartoonish villain?”

“For your information, I never suffer from a childhood trauma. In fact, I grew up in quite a plain environment, almost boring.” Drake mutters the latter half but it doesn’t look like he is lying. He raises one eyebrow towards the man who seems not buying. “What about you, Eddie Brock? You said it’s a pain in the ass but you still keep it, intoxicated by abusing its power to satisfy your poor self-esteem. Enjoy being Captain American?”

“Enough nonsense! Eddie and I are goin-”

“In that case you shoulda known better this symbiosis is a dead end.” Brock interrupts the symbiote, glancing at Drake with a sloppy grin on his face. “We ain’t some goody two shoes.”

All of them fall in silence for an instant. Brock closes his eyes. He can sense that Venom shrinks back into his body.

 _ **Maybe you should not open that door.** Thank you, Mr. Hindsight. I wonder whose fault then?_ 

“Do you have any idea why Jack asked you to do the interview in the first place?”

Brock cracks an eye open to look at the person who breaks the silence. “Because I’m the best?”

“Because I designated you.”

“Which means I’m the best?”

“If you say so. No wonder Dan Egan used a fake name to poach you on behalf of David Rhodes, huh?” [1] Drake chuckles, casting the former journalist a wry look. “It’s because you are easy.”

 ** _He is true on this point though._** “Oh that’s very nice of you.”

“I looked through your profile, Eddie. I admired you, and that whole show you did.” He knows all the past tense must sound harsh to Brock, yet Drake flashes a smile at him and continues. “Being a pretty face in front of the camera, reading loads of crap Manhattan and Bay Area elites pay to hear, you are fully aware of when and where to stop. And that’s why I designated you. I love meeting challenges but I’m not that suicidal to let a _real_ journalist come for inquisition when I simply need PR to clean up my mess.”

 ** _Ouch._** Brock doesn’t say a word. **_He really looks through you._**

Drake laughs sharply, watching color rise to Brock’s cheeks. “So, I genuinely wonder what made you think it would be a good idea to keep being difficult with me? To be fair, I thought you should have learnt your lesson after six months of unemployment.”

“Thank you for bringing it up: you screwed my life. _Screw you_!”

“It’s you who started it. You can’t really blame on me.” Drake defends himself flatly.

Brock turns his head, staring at the flickering neon sign outside the window. “It always feels good to be a hero, you know. Taking down bad guys, saving fellow human beings kind of stuff.”

“And you figured it was eventually the moment when you’re supposed to play the hero?”

“You think I’d choose to major in journalism otherwise?” Brock rolls his eyes and squints at Drake. “It’s just, I ain’t such a big fan of _sacrifice_ like you. I only take actions when everything is under my control, and I got no shame to say playing safe is my shtick. Though I was wrong about how crazy you could be.”

“I appreciate that.”

Brock’s head is thrown back as he observes the ceiling above. He pauses for a long while before going on to talk. “Maybe I wanted to play the hero, or maybe I just felt like to take risks since I had nothing to lose this time.” Another pause. “Teaming up with Venom is an unexpected bonus, sort of guilty pleasure for me. With this power, admit it or not, we look like a superhero from the comicbooks.”

“You don’t become superhero on account of randomly biting some thug’s heads off on the street. It’s never about power; It’s about a heart that knows how to use the power.”

“How ironically it came from your mouth.”

“We are not so different after all.” Drake smiles as innocently as a newborn. “You have your justice, while I have mine. What is slaughtered in the name of justice is not evilness, but the heterogeneous who doesn’t conform to the given game rules.”

Brock doesn't know how to reply. He only gazes into Drake’s utterly dark eyes, in which He confronts the reflection of himself.

Drake has no eligibility to play God, nor does he - at this point they are both megalomaniacal lunatics who believe they _can_ decide whether a vibrant living being should die or not. Neither of them is able to handle this runaway power; there are too many dangers and even more responsibilities to deal with. He knows this crystal clear and he believes so does Drake - despite his suspected state of mind - yet they seem cool with this entire disaster from their own perspectives.

Brock has been a self-assured douche for ages, and perhaps will always be. It’s reassuring to get a companion, however.

He finally exhales wearily and rubs his eye with the index finger. “We could spend the whole night throwing charges at each other, or do you want to do something else before another round?”

“Remember I said you are easy?” Drake leans forwards again.

“None taken. But if you could please act less like a complete asshole, I’ll be more willing to help you getting what you need.”

“My symbiote?”

 ** _Not his!_ **“That too.” Brock ignores the protest. “And try not to quote Bruno Mars to accuse me this time.” [2]

“What? Should’ve known you was trouble from the first kiss?”

It’s probably merited later when Brock feels their lips crush against each other.

**Author's Note:**

> [1] David Rhodes, Chairman of CBS News. I’m obsessed with a fan theory that Dr. Dan Lewis is actually a disguise of Dan Egan (Veep) who comes to recruit Eddie to CBS.
> 
> [2] When Carlton disses tied-up Eddie in that lab, his words sounds so much like The Grenade (that Bruno Mars’ song) to me: Easy come, easy go / That’s just how you live / Oh take, take, take it all but you never give, which makes me feel like to write a gag here. And the following line is: Should’ve known you was trouble from the first kiss / Had your eyes wide open.


End file.
